Its international Women’s day and we remember and celebrate Florence Rosser…..that’s her in the middle with her children…Florence, who was married to local fisherman Felix Rosser, was one of the earliest settlers in Torquay and was active in community affairs. In 1896 she joined the lobby for a school to be built in town by sending petitions to the Education Department. In 1900 the first school was opened in the T.I.A Hall and Alice, Myrtle and Arthur Rosser were among the first pupils. Florence Rosser served on the early Torquay School Boards. Her 4th son Harold who was born in Torquay and a pupil of the new school was killed in France in 1918 shortly before the end of the war. Florence grieved this loss all her life. She is a woman in our history worth celebrating today

The launch of the Geelong Spirit of Anzac Centenary Experience was held this morning for invited guests. It was a wonderful experience being immersed in Australia’s First World War story. www.togethertheyserved.com contributed in a small way to the local information exhibited.

This travelling exhibition which is now in Geelong brings to life an infant Australia still finding its feet on the eve of war. It follows in the footsteps of our soldiers, sailors, airmen and nurses throughout the campaign, including a commemoration of Australia’s century of service in all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations.

Driven by more than 200 artefacts from the Australian War Memorial, the Experience also integrates interactive environments and special effects to tell Australia’s story in new and engaging ways. Well worth a visit, entry is free but tickets must be booked online.

A Christmas present was a piece of gold for Torquay/Geelong. It contained photos of Col. John Longville Price. We are currently working through the album to identify who the people photographed are. Here are some of the eighty one photos from the album.

We came across this photo recently which the owner tells us was a house called “Loch Lomond “circa 1930’s in Torquay . It was built by Geelong Architect Iliffe Gordon Anderson. The owner of the picture knew nothing more other than it was just “off the Esplanade”

We did some digging around, looking at some old maps and title documents, and rate books and found that it was actually built in Gilbert Street and sat just where Tapas Cafe is now.

It is great to be able to piece together the story of our main street, photos like this are real gems.

You will notice among the trees and behind the fence Mr Anderson seems to be looking as us wondering what we are up to!

Summer is here and so is our December issue of HISTORY MATTERS, bringing to life stories from summers past. Taylor Park and the Taylor family feature in this edition. Don’t miss the story on our beaches and the go cart track that operated on Elephant Walk at Christmas time in the 1960s.

The digital magazine is distributed free to members.

If you would like a copy, they are available now at the Torquay newsagent for $10 or become a member by joining online through our website http://www.torquayhistory.com

The guest speaker this term is Dr. Janet Butler who wrote the book ‘Kitty’s War’ based on the diary of Sister Kit McNaughton from Lara.

A little more about Sister Kit McNaughton can be gleaned from two television shows aired in 2014.

The War That Changed Us was a 4-episode Australian television documentary series presenting the true stories of six Australians in World War I.

The series follows the range of experiences of the following real-life people:

Soldier Archie Barwick

army officer Pompey Elliott

army nurse Kit McNaughton

Anti-war activist and trade unionist Tom Barker

Anti-war activist and publisher Vida Goldstein

Pro-war crusader Eva Hughes

Winning many awards, the Australian television miniseries Anzac Girls was the six-part series which told the true stories of the nurses who served with the Australian Army Nursing Service at Gallipoli and the Western Front during the First World War. Sister Kit McNaughton was one of those nurses. The series is based on Peter Rees’ book The Other ANZACs as well as diaries, letters, photographs and historical documents.

We hope that you can join us on Monday 7th November, 2.00pm at Torquay Lions Village.

History Week is a significant event that engages local communities across Victoria. Each year members of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria collaborate to host events that explore aspects of our local history. From talks to exhibitions, tours to online engagement, there is something for everyone.

In Torquay, Museum Without Walls, through our online exhibition, is looking back over the last 130 years since the first land sales in September 1886 of the Puebla township, now known as Torquay. Reflecting on Torquay’s growth is crucial to our understanding of the past’s impact on the present. The influence of the early day trippers, fishermen and holiday makers on the growth of Torquay to the more modern day pioneers of the surfing industry and the crusading to protect Spring Creek from further development.

The names Garrard and Torquay and Olympics go hand in hand and what an amazing connection it is, spanning over 80 years

Dick Garrard (senior) a founding member of the Torquay Surf Club, had one of the longest careers of any wrestler ever. He qualified for the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. He also represented Australia in 1948 in London and 1952 in Helsinki. He won a silver medal in the 1948 Olympic welterweight freestyle class. He also won three gold medals (1934, 1938, and 1950) and one bronze medal (1954) at the Empire Games (all four in the lightweight freestyle class) and won a gold medal at the Pan-Pacific Games

He was awarded an MBE in 1970 and an OBE in 1976.

After his competition days were over , He became an international judge and referee as well as chairman of the Olympic Wrestling Technical Committee. He was involved with the every Olympics until the 2000 Sydney Olympics (except for the 1980 Moscow Games which he boycotted) as either a judge, referee, section manager, mat chairman, a delegate to the Congress or simply as a VIP. He was manager of the Australian wrestling team at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

He was and still is the only Australian wrestler to ever contest an Olympic final

Dick( Junior) a long time Torquay local , and member of the TSLC, made his Olympic mark as a rower . He represented Australia in 1960 in Rome and 1964 in Tokyo. Has had a long connection with the Olympics as a coach. In recent times his expertise has been sought by rowers from around the world . In Sydney in 2000 he coached a pair of US girls to a silver medals in the double sculls.

The full story of the Garrard’s and the Olympics will be in our next “History Matters “ Magazine

Photo shows Dick Garrard (snr) 2nd from left in Berlin 1936 showing visiting German army officers the Australian Kangaroo mascot at the Olympic Village .